Processes and molding devices for production of containers have been disclosed in the prior art (DE 199 26 329 A1). A tube of plasticized plastic material is extruded into a molding device. One end of the tube is closed by welding. A pneumatic pressure gradient acting on the hose is generated to expand the hose and is applied for the purpose of forming the container on a shaping wall of the molding device consisting of two form tools positioned opposite each other. A suitable filling mandrel is then used to fill the plastic container under sterile conditions. After the filling mandrel has been removed, the container is hermetically sealed with a definable head geometry being formed. Two container shaping jaws are moved toward each other by hydraulic or electromotive drive means to obtain a closed position and away from each other and into an open position to obtain the plastic container itself in which fluid is subsequently stored.
The head geometries generated by the two separately controlled jaws also generally include the neck element of the plastic container, including one in the form of an ampule. The ampule is closed by a head piece and may be opened at a separation point for removal of fluid after the head piece has been separated by a toggle element molded on it over the separation point, and thus, removed from the plastic container proper.
Processes and devices for execution of these processes have been disclosed in a plurality of embodiments and are widely used in packaging systems for liquid or paste products, as for example in the well-known Bottelpack® system.
EP 0 359 971 B1 discloses a comparable blow-fill-seal process for production of hollow containers of plastic. Two halves are molded and welded together in a tool. A frame-shaped hollow element is molded and welded in the same way as the containers themselves from a waste edge zone of the containers (ampules). The containers are configured in sequence in a strip.
In the above disclosed processes, the possibility exists of applying identification data, especially in the form of code numerals. Among other things, that data may indicate the place and date of production, the contents, the amount contained in the respective container and any expiration dates of the contents of a container. Placement of the data can be on the toggle element itself by which the sealing head piece is separated from the container for the process of removal of the contents or in the area of the edge waste zone surrounding the respective container and sold with the respective container as a sale unit. The respective identification data may also be present uncoded as information for end users, but are predominantly present in coded form for presentation of information content to producer and intermediate purchaser circles, and are applied in the disclosed processes in the production machine itself. The code numerals are fitted into the molding halves before the blow-fill-seal process is carried out so that the code numerals may be impressed into the respective container directly in the molding process. Since the production machines involved may easily have ten or more single-use molds, it may take several hours or even an entire day to replace the code numerals in the form of die plates or individual type which are to be fitted into the mold. Such expenditure of time is necessary in particular if one production machine is to apply different code numerals to the various molds as required by the production process. Since application of the code numerals inside the molds by hand is a very complicated process, it is also possible that a single error, such as application of an incorrect code numeral in the mold, may make it necessary to halt the production process and dispose all the containers produced up to that point by the production machine in the process. In such exchange processes the machine for producing the containers is not available, resulting in high operating costs.